Anthropology of Texts: Crossroads and Connections in Medieval and Early Modern Societies and Cultures

This conference is organised by the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies.

The research team of the ERC-funded research project Arabic Poetry in the Cairo Genizah (APCG), based at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies, Trinity College Dublin, invites scholars and researchers to participate in our upcoming international conference exploring the multifaceted dimensions of the Anthropology of Texts. This conference is part of the ongoing APCG project based in TCD in close collaboration with Cambridge University Library. A crucial strand of the project is to conduct an anthropological study of the Jewish people of medieval and Ottoman Egypt through manuscripts of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic poetry and secondary literature. The focus is on the role that poetry played in cultural life as an expression of Egyptian-Jewish experience in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period.

About the Conference
The Anthropology of Texts conference offers a dynamic platform for scholars from diverse fields to come together and explore in-depth the notion of textuality. This conference aims to unravel the rich tapestry of history, culture, writing systems, and practices that characterized the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. By scrutinizing the contexts in which these texts emerged and the networks through which they travelled, we seek to decipher their role in shaping societies and in being shaped by those societies. Some of the engaging questions we seek to explore are: How do texts, whether scripted, spoken, or material artifacts shape their contemporary societies? What insights do they provide into the value systems, ideologies, and everyday lives of various groups? Can texts become conduits for understanding the interplay between local dynamics and global communities at the time? By tracing cultural intersections and geographic links embedded in these texts, can we reveal unexplored connections between seemingly disparate places and people? Additionally, what can the practices of textual production and inscription reveal about the societies they originated from?

Please let us know if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: ahmedm4@tcd.ie